Construction led delivery is what makes us stand out.

In the pharma, biotech, medical devices and consumer products sectors, we are the supplier of choice for many highly respected and pioneering names across the industry.

Recognising the need to retain specialist skills in this unique area, we have assembled a dedicated division who only work in the Life Sciences sector.

Providing a construction management service, combined with the additional attributes you would expect from an experienced multidisciplinary contractor, we offer all the project controls, risk management and reporting to meet each client’s bespoke needs. This is enhanced by our contractor’s eye for detail and constructability, while maintaining strong delivery relationships with key supply chain specialists in the sector.

SelectedPROJECTS

Pirbright Institute, Surrey, UK

Visioncare

Sisk has an ongoing relationship with Visioncare (formerly Vistakon) which dates back to the early 1990's.

Analog Devices

Sisk's history with this cutting edge company stems back as far as 1983. During that time, we have completed a number of developments at their Limerick facility, with a value exceeding €250m. Our latest project was a new European Research and Development Centre.

Bio Cork 2

Sisk has carried out projects for a number of companies in the Johnson & Johnson organisation including Vistakon, DePuy Synthes, Cordis, Ethicon, Cilag, Centocor and Janssen, dating back to 1994 when the first phase of Vistakon was constructed in Castletroy, Co. Limerick.

In 2005, Sisk commenced it’s largest project at a Johnson & Johnson site to date in Ireland; the Centocor Biologics Manufacturing Facility, at Ringaskiddy in Cork Harbour. This project, known as BioCork I, now operates as Janssen Sciences Ireland UC.

This project for BioCork II involves the construction of a new production facility, as well as the expansion of the existing warehouse, canteen, laboratories, offices, wastewater treatment plant, central utilities and carparking.

Novartis Cell & Gene Facility, Stein, Switzerland

Sisk provided EPCMV services to successfully deliver a new Cell & gene therapy facility in stein Switzerland. This project was completed in March 2019.

Life Sciences construction

Given Ireland’s position as a key European location for the global pharmaceutical industry, Sisk has been at the forefront of innovative pharmaceutical construction for decades, constructing over €1.5 billion in pharma facilities in Ireland alone since 2000 through our dedicated Pharma Division team.

Together, they bring their experience of projects in Bio-Technology, API, OSD, Aseptic Fill/Finish, Medical Devices, Laboratories, Warehouses & Associated Facilities to each new brief we receive, and they have the specialist skills in abundance to take your own pharma project from pre-construction right through to final handover commissioning/validation.

Other Life Sciences Case Studies

Bavarian Nordic, Denmark

Bavarian Nordic, Denmark

The facility when complete will be equipped with one filling line and one freeze dryer.

MSD, Haarlem, Netherlands

MSD, Haarlem, Netherlands

We celebrated the placing of the first pile for the new cold store building at the MSD site in Haarlem, Netherlands. Following the Dutch tradition of ‘Eerste Paal’ the event marks the beginning of the construction phase of the project.

The project is being delivered by John Sisk & Son providing a full turnkey project delivery from concept to commissioning. Sisk has worked with their design partners, Arup and RKD to deliver the front-end concept and design. Arup provided support to Sisk in design management, multidisciplinary engineering and specialist consultancy, with RKD Architects providing full architectural services.

The project has been developed as an innovative model in “construction led execution” from concept through design, execution, commissioning and turnover with the aim of delivering greater efficiency throughout and maintaining focus on the target value and final project outcome.

This has been enabled by Sisk leading the turnkey approach and with the proactive collaboration of the design team and Sisk’s early engagement with its key construction partners, Akor and Jones Engineering along with several other Dutch partners. Key to this has been the virtual build in advance that we have done through digital design and other techniques we have used to drive Lean delivery.

MSD is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world renowned for their discoveries and advances in vaccines. MSD established their presence in the Netherlands in 1950's. The site at Haarlem has global significance as the distribution hub for 2,500 SKUs to more than 140 countries.

Depuy Synthesis

Depuy Synthesis

Depuy Synthesis included the separation of a production facility from an existing pharmaceutical site and the subsequent provision of new utilities to serve this facility. It also included the internal demolition and strip out and subsequent fit out of this existing production building (in phases). This is for a change of manufacturing use from drug product tableting to medical device manufacturing. Sisk carried out the role of construction management contractor and PSCS, responsible for all site personnel and logistics.

Pfizer, Grange Castle, Dublin

Pfizer, Grange Castle, Dublin

The purpose of this project was to provide Pfizer, Grange Castle with an upgraded facility suitable for multi-product capability. All the equipment and automation systems installed were set up to facilitate multi-product operation. The facility meets all current regulatory requirements for this type of product for the EU, US and ROW markets.

Sisk were contracted as CM on the Multiple Project Capability (MPC) for Pfizer. We were also contracted under a separate lump sum fixed price contract for the CSA building package element of the works.

National Institute for Bio-Processing Research & Training Facility, Dublin

National Institute for Bio-Processing Research & Training Facility, Dublin

The National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) is a world-class institute that provides training and research solutions for the bioprocessing industry in state of the art facilities.

NIBRT is located in Dublin, Ireland and is based on an innovative collaboration between University College Dublin (UCD), Trinity College Dublin, Dublin City University (DCU) and Institute of Technology, Sligo.

A 65,000m2 facility built as a medium-scale bio-processing plant comprising seven research laboratories, a bio-processing pilot plant and training / office facilities completed in 2011 at a value of €13.5m.

We were awarded the construction of this unique facility following an open public tendering process which placed an equal emphasis on quality as on cost.

Sisk’s dedicated pharma division clearly demonstrated their knowledge and experience in winning the project. Getting the project built right first-time with seamless handover between all stages and stakeholders is critical for all projects, but particularly for this client, representative of the different colleges. Having built over €1.4 billion in pharmaceutical facilities since 2000, many of which included large laboratory facilities Sisk had the competence to meet the cost and schedule targets while still constructing a facility that met all laboratory quality standards.

NIBRT which is part funded by the IDA Ireland, has a remit to support the development of the existing bioprocessing industry in Ireland and to attract additional bioprocessing companies to Ireland by:

Training highly skilled personnel for the bioprocessing industry.

Conducting world-class research in key areas of bioprocessing.

Providing a critical mass of multipurpose bioprocessing facilities.

This project entailed the construction of the two storey, 6,000m2, bioprocess simulated GMP pilot plant, laboratory, training and office facility, including receipt of free issue process equipment and a novated automation contract.

Pfizer, Newbridge, Co. Kildare

Pfizer, Newbridge, Co. Kildare

This was a €104m project for a major three-storey extension to tablet manufacturing at Wyeth Pharmaceutical, Co. Kildare. This consists of new process building and ancillary services, through isolated dispensing, granulation, milling/drying, blending, compression and coating of the tablets from cold storage of raw material through to fully coated tablets ready for packaging.

The process is spread over the three floors of the production building being supported by post hoists, automated goods vehicles, discharge stations and lifts.

Main Production Building 18,000m² (6,500m² of clean space)

Office & Laboratory Block 1,750m²

CUB Building 1,500m²

Abbvie Creon, Co. Cork

Abbvie Creon, Co. Cork

This project required the construction of a new four storey production area as an extension to the existing buildings located to the east and south of the proposed production area.

There were a number of tie-ins to the existing building along the south and eastern facades of the new extension at various levels.

Boston Scientific, Galway

Boston Scientific, Galway

The project required the refurbishment of an existing facility, construction of 3,000m² of high-end office space including toilets and canteen facilities in accordance with the requirements of LEED. This project was executed over a number of phases to respect the pre-existence of an existing sitting tenant.

The works required structural improvement to the existing steel frame, the formation of new structural openings and the removal of ACM containment in the pre-existing vinyl floor tiles and adhesive. This project was carried out in a live environment at all times. It proved challenging from a logistics perspective with the diversion and maintenance of existing thoroughfares – both pedestrian and vehicular – as well as external works executed within a live industrial campus (gas main, car park improvements etc.).

The project was challenging from an operations perspective by virtue of the existence of a sitting tenant with whom space, access etc. had to be shared. This was managed through daily liaison on the ground, weekly planning and formal weekly review meetings.

Janssen, Beerse, Belgium

Janssen, Beerse, Belgium

Sisk provided construction management and commissioning services to J&J for their new laboratory facility.

Jannsen Biologics, Leiden, The Netherlands

Jannsen Biologics, Leiden, The Netherlands

This project involved the construction management of a pilot vaccine facility

Sisk were tasked with the construction management of a pilot vaccine facility within an empty shell of an operational biologics facility. This included the demolition of walls, floors and services, installation of new underground double contained drainage, bio-kill sumps and ground floor slab.

We also constructed a new concrete mezzanine area over the complete production area, new cleanrooms and installed complete new processes, mechanical, electrical & instrumentation, sprinklers, HVAC, BMS and automation systems, equipment and process systems over the existing live production facility including modification of some existing production areas.

MSD, Burgwedel, Germany

MSD, Burgwedel, Germany

MSD, Burgwedel, Germany

Sisk provided construction management services to MSD for retrofitting works to a vaccines facility in Burgwedel, Germany. This project was completed in 2019.

Johnson & Johnson, Shaufhaussen, Switzerland

Johnson & Johnson, Shaufhaussen, Switzerland

Sisk provided construction management & safety management services to J&J on a number of capital projects at their Schaffhausen campus in Switzerland between 2016-2019.

Contact us and see how we can work together

Frank Quirk

Frank has worked with the company for over 28 years and brings his experience of some of the Group's largest industrial process, pharmaceutical and energy projects to help ensure the business' successful growth within these significant markets.

Tim Petch

Tim has a wealth of international experience having spent over 30 years' in the construction industry delivering numerous projects for international clients in Ireland, UK, Singapore, China, North Africa and Australia. He joined Sisk in 2017 as Business Development Director for Europe.

Owen Sisk

Owen is one of the fifth generation of the Sisk family. In 2009 he commenced our first civil engineering project in the UK and managed much of our civils work across the UK including a number of the London 2012 Olympics projects, one of the UK’s largest onshore windfarms and other infrastructure projects. He has led a group-wide business transformation programme over recent years and was appointed to the European business in 2019 as Regional Director, working primarily in Life Sciences.